Industry News News
New CoC funding program

This program represents Phase 2 of a Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification project, started in late 2011, that seeks to raise awareness, educate and enable primary and secondary wood manufacturing businesses in Ontario to become “chain of custody certified”. The goal is to make the whole certification process more accessible, easier to accomplish, and more affordable.

A CoC label provides an assurance to consumers that the wood used in a particular end product comes from forests that are sustainably managed to a set of established, third-party standards. The demand for certified products is on the rise in both domestic and export markets. This project better positions more Ontario companies to capitalize on these growing trends and opportunities – now and into the future.

This funding program will reimburse up to 35 Ontario companies with up to a 50 percent reimbursement of their successful certification assessment costs – to a maximum of $5,000. To qualify, the certification process has to have started after April 1st 2012, and end before March 31st 2013. This program also offers up to 60 no-obligation rree on-site visits by a qualified CoC consultant.

“Initial uptake has been brisk and now there are just 24 corporate funding spots remaining, and 36 free on-site visits” says Elizabeth Holmes, General Manager of the EOMF. “We’re pleased to see that many progressive companies in the forest-based manufacturing industry throughout Ontario are understanding that now is the opportune time to become CoC certified with the least amount of expense and effort.”

Completion of an associated EOMF Chain of Custody Certification Seminar, in-person or online, is also required. These seminars are designed to inform participants about the “what, why and how” of chain of custody certification as it applies to both forest product producers, and the value-added wood manufacturing industry in Ontario.

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